THE FINALISTS

PETER KEARNEY’S 527KW EVO VII

Everyone loves to see a bad story come good, and Christchurch local Peter Kearney’s Evo fits that description after his original engine was blown up by a mechanic friend. Peter didn’t let this deter him, and instead rebuilt the Evo into one very wild street car. The new engine combo — which is more drag car than street car — sends 527kW to all four wheels, with plenty more to come thanks to a fully built, standard-stroke 4G63. All this is packaged in a shell that is borderline sleeper-looking, if it wasn’t for the grille-mounted Accusump.

MAD MIKE’S RADBUL MX5

‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett’s Mazda MX-5 is quite possibly the wildest import car ever built in New Zealand. The 900-odd-kW, PPREbuilt twin-turbo 26B is backed by a Holinger HD6 sequential box, and ASD-built Winters Quick Change diff. It now runs updated ND MX-5 bodywork, and Mike has put together a custom Rocket Bunny bodykit, livery, and wheels to suit the 2016 look.

JESSE REMKES’ 2JZ-GTE E46 BMW

The BMW E46 is a very popular chassis for an engine swap here in New Zealand, but few pull it off with the fit and finish Jesse achieved with his 2JZ-powered sedan. From the colour-coded half cage and wheels, through to the black-on-black engine bay, this is a street car with class that could also kick your arse thanks to the 2JZ-GTE lurking under the bonnet. Seven years of ownership have seen this machine constantly evolve, and lead to the tyre-fryer before you.

JOHN STRIDE’S FD3S RX-7

A three-year labour of love, John’s FD represents everything we admire about a New Zealand street car. Great lengths were taken to get the engine bay as clean as possible with a modern 13B turbo. Not a single piece of alloy escaped the polisher, and the entire car has been deloomed. Hidden under all that bling is a very potent 13B bridge-port block, a Sinco manifold, and customized Garrett 35/40. Once some boost is wound in, this will make some serious numbers for a streeter.